Thursday, December 31, 2009

Frozen Tropics: A Few Last Minute Local Options For NYE Little Miss Whiskey's, H St Country Club, and Rock n Roll Hotel are all already sold out, but there may be some room left at Argonaut (no cover), Granville Moore's (make reservations), Sticky Rice (make reservations), Red and the Black ($5 cover), and Palace of Wonders (lots of entertainment planned $20).

Happy New Year to all. 2009 has been a great year for this area and 2010 promises lots more exciting developments and openings to come. Have fun and be safe!

Ethiopic Restaurant goes before the ABRA January 11 seeking a Class C-Restaurant license for the Ethiopian restaurant coming to 401 H Street.

According to the application, Ethiopic will serve Ethiopian cuisine with live entertainment featuring Ethiopian traditional dancing. The restaurant will hold up to 40 patrons with outdoor seating for an additional 36. Owner Meseret Bekele attended ANC6C's past two meetings and a voluntary agreement was believed to be close at hand as of the December 10 session.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Capitol Fine Wine & Spirit had their Voluntary Agreement with ANC6C approved by the ABRA at its September 30 hearing, which cleared the way for renewal of their Class A license. Capitol Fine Wine & Spirit is to be run by Kefir Seyoum and will fill the rowhouse that once held Kelly's Liquor, which is next door to Sidamo and run by friends. According to Seyoum, he has noted the change in demographics in the neighborhood and accordingly planned to re-open as a high-end store, with an emphasis on wine and specialty liquor. Seyoum has engaged in extensive renovations to the building, which his family has owned since 1991, but which fell into disrepair when illness of the then-manager led to the prior store's closure. The prior store reportedly was a good neighbor to surrounding area residents. In addition to fine wines and spirits, the establishment aims to offers high-end cheeses, breads, and meats. Seyoum seems to be aiming to provide a more convenient option to Schneiders for local residents. Once open, Capitol Fine Wine & Spirit will pair with Sidamo and Ethiopic to provide a series of nice new additions to the south side of the 400 block of H.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Joe Fengler who represents ANC6A-02 (Sherwood Recreation area south of H Street) and is the Chair of ANC6A just announced his resignation as Commissioner. Fengler has been an extremely active and forward thinking for his single member district and for the Commission as a whole and his resignation represents a loss for the neighborhood. It will no doubt require the work of many to attempt fill his shoes. His message to the community, including a call to service, follows.

My wife and I (and our dog Missy) purchased a home in the Lincoln Park community - just a mile to the south. Accordingly, I have resigned my position as ANC 6A02 Commissioner. It has been an honor to work with many of you over the last seven years to make our community a better place to live and work. If there is one thing I can leave with you, it would be to volunteer two hours a month to serve on an ANC 6A committee. Many of the accomplishments attributed to ANC 6A are a direct result of residents taking the time to get involved and provide insight on zoning, liquor license, and public safety issues. It is my firm belief that an ANC will only be as good as the volunteers that donate their time to make great things happen. I will be attending the ANC 6A meeting on January 14 to say my last goodbye (7pm at Miner Elementary School located at the 600 block of 15th Street, NE ). If you have a chance to attend so I can say farewell in person that would be great -- and you can volunteer for a committee!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

For shuttle stops and schedule, visit the Atlas website here. Generally speaking, the shuttle picks up in Chinatown at Zengo (7th near H St NW) on the hour or at 35 minutes after the hour and drops off at the Atlas (1300 block H St NE) and runs from the in front of the Martini Lounge (1200 block H St NE) about 15 and 45 minutes after the hour to a couple of stops on H St NW near Chinatown.

Thanks to Councilmember Tommy Wells and Mayor Fenty for getting the shuttle quickly restored after a brief break in operations.

Liberty Tree aims to open at 1016 H St within the next month or two, bringing brick oven pizza and New England seafood restaurant to H Street. Liberty Tree comes from Scott Hamilton of Hamilton's on Capitol Hill and will fill the space previously occupied by Tropicana Eatery, which closed shop over the summer. Hamilton has reconfigured the restaurant to include seating for 35 and intends to open a summer garden for al fresco dining in the patio area along the building's east side.

Liberty Tree has put itself before the ANC where it has been subject of some concern regarding potential noise issues for some neighboring residents, but the property was previously home to another restaurant with a liquor license and Hamilton has indicated a willingness to restrict hours, construct noise mitigation, and make other concessions, which should help ensure that a voluntary agreement can be achieved to get this restaurant opened in early 2010.

Once open, Liberty Tree should provide a nicer, more upscale dining option than many of the establishments that have opened on H Street to date. With Biergarden Haus, Vendetta, and Joe's Coal & Ice House to follow over the course of the next year, it could signal the beginning of a new wave of better dining options along the corridor. Here's hoping the ANC members engage positively to reach a favorable agreement for all involved, which allows Liberty Tree's kitchen and brick oven to get up and running soon, while ensuring that its impact on the community is no greater than other establishments.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Chris Willoughby hopes to open Chow at 1110 H Street early next year. Willoughby is the owner of Jin on 14th Street in the U Street Cooridor and proposes to open an upscale restaurant serving Asian cuisine. Chow is seeking an entertainment endorsement and a summer garden on the patio out back and is currently going through the ANC/ABRA process.

H Street's restaurants and bars have received a great deal of attention lately, but the recent and coming development in the arts area is such that the area could soon be as well-known for its artistic offerings as well.

Starting at the east end:

The Loree Grand at Union Place (3rd & K Sts) will house 30 artists in residence at east end of cooridor. The Loree Grand will include over 200 residential units, a roof garden, a courtyard, a gym and ground floor retail with occupancy in mid-2010.

Industry Gallery (1358 Florida Ave, 2nd floor) will be opening up galleries on the same block as Conner Contemporary soon putting at least 5 art galleries in the greater H Street cooridor.

Add all these galleries to the Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St) and the H Street Playhouse (1365 H St)(whose current production is receiving lots of praise) and the Arts component of the H Street Arts and Entertainment District is well on its way to catching up with the what the restaurants and bars have done to date.

Living Social features the soon-to-open, already-taking-orders Dangerously Delicious Pies as their deal of the day. $50 gift certificates are available for $25 today. Dangerously Delicious is to open at 1339 H Street within weeks, but is available for pre-order holiday pies now. You can find a list of available pies (both sweet and savory) and quiche here.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

(this is the first in a series of posts on H Street establishments, in which we will offer our comprehensive take on an H Street business and welcome your comments on them as well in hopes of creating an ongoing thread of information about the many exciting venues on H Street).

The Argonaut is both the eastern-most H Street venue of note and the granddaddy of the new establishments along the cooridor. Opened in 2005 by Joe Englert, the Argonaut has a nautical theme and is essentially a great neighborhood bar that features a very strong beer list and really surprisingly upscale and well-done pub food. Actually, calling it pub food isn't fair to the Argo -- the Argo is a dive bar with very good, reasonably priced, unfussy, yet seasonal and often organic or locally-sourced food. It's one of our very favorite spots.

Highlights:

Sweet Potato Fries (a must order every time)Fish Tacos (does anywhere in town do them better?)Nightly specials, including Fried Chicken night on Thursday, $2 Taco TuesdaysOther specials: discounts to Results the Gym members and purchasers of Argonaut Pint or Shot Glasses who remember to bring their glass back to be refilledExcellent beers by the bottle, strong if short list of beers on tap (Hint: ask what's on the fourth rotating tap)Great patio for dining or drinking al frescoDark and StormiesSurprisingly good, inexpensive wines by the bottle or glass (half priced bottles on Monday)Football on a dozen screens every SundayAlways recognizing a neighborFriendly staffChildren's menu for those with well-behaved little onesStrong brunch option, including make-your-own bloody Mary's and bottomless Mimosas

Main Weakness:Location - farthest walk/drive on H Street for the many of us who live to the west of it, which makes it less appealling, especially while the construction is heavy at that end and there aren't yet as many other new developments open.

So what do you think of the Argo? What do you go there for and what are the best things to order or to avoid?

On Monday, Mayor Fenty and DDOT Director Gabe Klein announced the substantial completion of construction work on Benning Road, NE, from 16th Street to Oklahoma Avenue, declaring that crews met the accelerated December deadline set by the Mayor earlier this year to minimize the impact of the reconstruction on the surrounding community.

The Benning Road Great Streets Project began in December 2007 and Mayor Fenty asked DDOT to speed the project up after utility-related delays had slowed progress earlier this year. Fenty announced yesterday that the heavy construction was complete and that the entire Benning Road Great Streets Initiative is scheduled to be completed in April 2010 linking it to the ongoing H Street Great Streets Initiative, which began 15 months back. The final portion of the Benning Road project will be the completion of the Starburst intersection where H Street, Benning Road, Bladensburg Road and Maryland Avenue come together. That work will include: the construction of a plaza with a fountain wall; the “Cornerstones of History” mural portraying Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks; and other outdoor attractions for the neighborhood.

This event recurs the fourth Thursday of each month, but is being held a week early this month because of the holiday schedule. Councilmember Wells office provided the following update for those unable to attend.

• A new "reimbursable detail" has been started for the east end of H Street, NE. The "detail" works by having businesses partner to hire off-duty MPD officers to add to the existing MPD patrols in the area – putting more officers on the streets. PSA 102 volunteers, with support from Tommy and ANC 6A, worked with business owners to create the new "detail." The "detail" will add officers on Friday and Saturday nights, between 11:30 pm and 3:30 am, in the areas between 11th and 15th Streets.

• Councilmember Wells has successfully worked with the Mayor's office to secure funding to continue the H Street NE Shuttle. The shuttle, which runs an express route between Gallery Place and Minnesota Ave Metro stations, is critical to providing alternative transportation options to the H Street corridor during the disruptive streetscape construction project.

Friday, December 11, 2009

H Street Country Club is seeking to make use of their roof. The roof would be extension of upstairs with restaurant seating (99 seats), an additional bar, and 9 more holes of minigolf.

Proprietor Joe Englert reached a Voluntary Agreement with ANC 6A to limit the hours of use, prohibit sound amplification, and install noise mitigation materials to insure that the roof patio does not disturb area residents. The Voluntary Agreement also permits entertainment inside the establishment on four holidays (Independence Day, St. Patrick's Day, Haloween, and New Year's Eve), but on those days only and the entertainment endorsement is limited to the interior of the the building.

Englert is also expected to seek use of the roof at the Rock and Roll Hotel where he would put an additional 79 seats.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Studio H Gallery and Workshop Presents Its Second Exhibit, “Wonderment, an Exploration of the Indeterminate” a group show by: Katherine Mann, Kim Manfredi and Jenny Mullins Saturday, December 12, at 6 pm. Event and exhibit details from the press release below.

About the Exhibition:Visitors to “Wonderment” will find a selection of work from Katherine Mann, Kim Manfredi and Jenny Mullins. All three women graduated this May with MFAs from the Hoffberger School of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, MD. Katherine Mann's work depicts ever-changing fantasy worlds where blood cells, rainforests and coral reefs collide and intertwine. Kim Manfredi's work emphasis on bulges, bumps, and contaminates, primarily illustrates boundaries - boundaries respected and boundaries crossed. Jenny Mullins' large-scale paintings explore notions of commercial mythology and low budget mysticism. Visitors will note both the distinct style of each artist as well as the influence this emerging trio had on each other during their time at Hoffberger.

As a result of the partnership, police will be patrolling H Street from 11th through 15th every weekend night. This is one of several ideas proposed and implemented with the help of businesses to improve public safety and increase police presence in the area. The PSA 102 Neighborhood Public Safety Committee continues to seek additional police to patrol the communities served by PSA 102, but the agreement should go a long way toward addressing any safety concerns along the main entertainment district cooridor. Kudos to the business owners on those blocks, including Joe Englert, and to the PSA and ANC folks who helped make this happen. Reimburseable details have been implemented to great success in Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, and other areas in recent years.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Thanks to Councilmember Tommy Wells and Mayor Fenty the H Street Shuttle that runs from the Atlas District/H Street Entertainment District to Chinatown and back will resume operations shortly. Tommy spoke with the Mayor about how important the shuttle has been on Sunday and soonthereafter the Mayor lined up funding for the year ahead. The shuttle is expected to resume by December 21 and to run for at least another year. Kudos to Tommy and the Mayor! Both have been increasting their focus on the H Street area from the forthcoming streetcars, to nuisance properties and crime, to the shuttle and the extention of the shuttle is another benefit of their efforts to boost the region while the streetcars and the forthcoming residential developments continue under construction.

DCmud has a post on an ongoing debate over planned development at 1242 H St. The owner is seeking to develop the property for office space and does not want to comply with the Historic Overlay plans for retail and higher ceilings on the first floor. Thus a Zoning variance is required and ANC6A is provided a chance to weigh in. To date, it seems the developer has been unwilling to negotiate with the ANC. Some additional persepective on the proposal is provided here. It will be interesting to see whether the Developer decides to engage and negotiate with the ANC as other developers on H Street have done or whether this gets bogged down as a result of their unwillingness to do so.

The proposed design does not compare favorably with those prepared for other coming projects including the H Street Connection development coming to the south side of H Street between 8th and 10th Sts.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

WeLoveDC breaks the news that a yet-to-be-named new Asian restaurant has applied for a liquor license at 1110 H Street. The to-be-named restaurant from "Foodies LLC" will feature a summer garden with 25 seats. It will be located a couple doors East of Little Miss Whiskey's and a few doors West of Taylor Gourmet.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Dangerously Delicious Pies the New York Times-touted, Baltimore-based pie company will open at 1339 H Street soon. In the meantime, they are offering Thanksgiving pies (Apple, Pumpkin, Pecan and Sweet Potato) for telephone order. To order, call (202) 398-PIES.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Living Social is selling $30 gift certificates to the Argonaut (1433 H St) for $15 today. You can purchase the half-off gift certificates here and enjoy the discount on your next happy hour, fish taco night, or brunch at the Argo.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

An illustrated talk on the Historic Buildings of H Street. This meeting is likely to provide some of the background necessary to extend the Capitol Hill Historic District a few blocks North to include the H Street cooridor.

Learn about H Street Architecture from architectural historians EHT Traceries, who will present the results of the H street Historic Building Survey

Sponsored by H Street Main Street and ANC 6A

Also, November 10, at 7:00 pm is the monthly PSA 102 Meeting at Sherwood Recreation Center. This month, the meeting will feature special guest Chief Judge Lee Satterfield, the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The discussion will address issues relating to juvenile justice, stay away orders, and prosecution relating to prostitution. PSA 102 meets the second Tuesday of every month at the Shewood Recreation Center.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Last night, Little Miss Whiskey's Golden Dollar (1104 H St) added food to their extensive menu of bottled beer and whiskey offerings. Chef Stephan Boillon (formerly of the well-regarded Italian restaurant Dino in Cleveland Park) launched his short menu that will be prepared of a grill on the patio. Little Miss Whiskey's was touted as a "can't do wrong" destination earlier Friday in a Washington Post feature. Tried anything off the new menu? Tell us what you recommend in the comments.

the decor is suitably hip: The purple walls are covered with flocked lions, and old silkscreened concert posters are hung inside vintage gilded frames. Gothic wrought-iron lamps hang over the bar. A cozy couch-filled room is upstairs, just away from the dance floor, with a Christmas tree as its centerpiece. And the back patio is one of the most interesting outdoor spaces in town: Lit by purple lanterns that hang from an overhead trellis, there are metal benches, a wall of tall green trees and flowering plants, and a fountain with water gushing from a lion's head.

It's wonderful," says Courtney Clugston, 32, an art director for a marketing company. "There's no pretentious attitude at all. I come here a lot by myself and talk to random people."

The house rules are simple: Be polite, tip your bartender and don't act like a fool. That's all it takes.

The scene: "It's a really comfortable place," says Michelle Lapin, 34, an IT product manager who admits she "felt super cool" when some early-adopter friends brought her in. "The staff is really down-to-earth. The music isn't too loud, so you can hang out with your friends. Somehow, the balance is just right."

The beer selection walks a fine line between divey and gourmet. On one hand, you can get Stroh's -- specially imported to D.C. because one of the bar's owners is from Detroit -- for $3 a can. There's an ad in the binder-size drink menu hawking 24 oz. cans of Steel Reserve malt liquor for $8. But the coolers behind the bar also contain a good selection of bottles from Bear Republic, Stone, Bell's and Founders, typically found at specialty beer bars.

Hill is Home also has a new post higlighting some coming additions to SE Capitol Hill, including a new New Orleans-style spot from Joe Englert, Ann Cashion, and Teddy Folkman coming to 14th & Penn, the second US post of Florence's famed pasta-pasta-pasta place, Aqua Al Due, expected to open across from Eastern Market soon.

The Senate voted yesterday to authorize an extension and expansion of the first-time homebuyers' tax credit. The credit authorized $8,000 in fullly refundable tax credit for couples earning under $150,000 per year who closed on their first new home purchases by November 30. The extension of the credit would now run through June 30, 2010 for houses under contracy by April 30, 2010. It will continue to provide a $8,000 fully-refundable tax credit for first-time homebuyers, but the income limits have been raised to $225,000 per couple or $125,000 per individual. The credit would be expanded to provide $6,500 to existing homeowners seeking to upgrade to a new home as their primary residence who have lived in their current home for at least five out of the previous eight years. The credit is available for homes costing up to $800,000. The provision is part of the larger unemployment bill, which is expected to be taken up and passed by the House of Representatives promptly.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Frozen Tropics is an excellent blog run by an area resident who has been in the area for the past several years. She keeps a running list of recommended venues along the H Street cooridor, which can be relied on as your going out guide to H Street.

Mayor Fenty and DC Parks & Recreation Director Dr. Ximena Hartsock were at the Sherwood Recreation Center Monday to announce that Whole Foods was parterning with DPR to establish new community gardens across the Distrct.

“My administration is committed to enhancing and expanding community gardens for families in the District, and we are proud to partner with Whole Foods in this initiative," said Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. “This partnership marks a great investment in the health of our communities.”

Whole Foods donated $25,000 to DPR to install community gardens at 56 recreation centers across the District of Columbia. The donation will be put towards, tools, plants, soil, and mulch. The donation will also help DPR install bee hives in every ward. The new community gardens are open to all community members with a focus on youth and senior adult participation.

“It’s exciting to have a project that not only beautifies the city but also promotes health, nutrition, and community involvement,” said Interim Director Hartsock. “With the support of Whole Foods Market, DPR can promote environmental education and green living.”

“We are very excited to be part of this initiative with DC Parks and Recreation,” said Whole Foods Market Regional President, Ken Meyer. “Whole Foods Market has made a commitment to help establish gardens in the communities in which we do business. This is a great opportunity to educate children, families and DC residents about where our food comes from and the importance of fresh, local ingredients. Everyone can take part in these gardens, nurture them, learn from them and share. We tell this story in our stores, now it’s time to bring it out into our neighborhoods and put that commitment into practice.”

Whole Foods Market is encouraging area stores and employees to participate in all aspects of the program such as constructing and tending to gardens, providing scraps for composting, hosting workshops in afterschool programs, and hosting cooking demonstrations. Additionally, at the announcement, Whole Foods Market provided a food tasting of dishes with produce that will be grown in many of the gardens.

The majority of gardens will be installed by Americorps NCCC team members. Recreation staff along with youth and seniors within each community are encouraged to maintain the gardens throughout the year. This program is being supported in part by organizations including the University of the District of Columbia, Greater DC Cares, Student Conservation Corps (SCA), Neighborhood Farm Initiative (NFI) / America the Beautiful Foundation (ATB), Rooting DC, and City Year.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Souk opened at 1208 H Street on Monday night, bringing affordable Middle Eastern/Morrocan cuisine to H Street. Souk is owned and operated by Alami Rahim and offers dine in and carry out with a menu featuring various Middle Eastern dishes. The restaurant is lovely and quite small, with seating for about 25 in house. The open kitchen is small and the entire spot was staffed by three people on a recent visit. Souk is already doing more business than anticipated in this their opening week.

Our early impressions of the food were quite favorable and suggest that this place will continue to do very well. The Falafel sanwich ($7) was lightly fried and served with bright accompaniments, including red onion, green onion, and pine nuts. The Chicken Schawarma ($8) was a bit mushy, but both sandwiches came on thin, fresh pita. The Hummus ($4) was creamy, smooth and covered with a thin layer of paprika and oil, while the Grape Leaves ($5) were a real standout with lots of flavor of mint, lemon and parsley coming through. The menu is very reasonably priced with only two items costing over $10 (updated: see below). There are already a couple favorable reviews on Yelp. They do not have a liquor license. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Notes the high percentage of young professionals and first-time home buyers as among the draws. I did not know that former Mayor Williams lived at Senate Square. Between him and Robin Givhan (fashion editor for the Post's Style section), we've got at least a couple of local celebrities here.

(Washington, D.C.) – The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will be restricting eastbound traffic on H Street in northeast between 3rd and 7th streets to one lane starting 9:30am Monday, October 26. The lanes closures will be in effect through Monday, November 16.

Crews will be excavating and repaving the north center lane in this section.

During this period, delivery vehicles will be unable to load and unload from the eastbound curb lane between 3rd and 7th streets. Loading and unloading will be permitted on the nearby side streets including 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th streets.

Last night was the first of DDOT's public meeting tour through each Ward. At the Ward 6 meeting just off of H Street NE, DDOT offered a proposed map showing two separate phases culminating in eight lines of streetcars running across the District. The first phase would include the H Street line connecting NE Capitol Hill to downtown, along with lines from Anacostia, and from Petworth. The second phase would extend the H Street line to Georgetown and also add a line that reaches Woodley Park.

Councilmember Tommy Wells recently secured a commitment from Mayor Fenty to expidite the H Street line. Wells said that he expects the H Street line to be a boon for the retail outlets expected to open on H Street over the next few years.

GK: Well, right now we’ve said about 2012. But we’re working very hard now that we have a team in place to speed that up - pretty dramatically. So hopefully, you’ll see an announcement in the next 6 months that gives people an update and hopefully it will be a good update - that we’re going to get up and running more quickly. I actually spent the morning out touring the city looking for maintenance facility locations near H Street. We have a number of places we’re looking at, existing infrastructure we can use - so we’re very focused on this project, we’re putting a lot of our own in-house resources into it. We want this to be, you know, a real win for the city.

The open houses will hit each Ward in the District over the course of the next two weeks.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Frozen Tropics follows up on an ANC-6a email over the weekend to confirm that Napa 1015 will be closing the restaurant for the time being, while continuing to operate its catering business. She remains hopeful that they will reopen as the economy picks up and as the expected developments on this block and in the area come in the months ahead. She explains:

As many of you already know, Napa 1015 is closing the doors of its restaurant operations October 24th. I think this a huge loss to H Street, but I hope (knowing that they own their building) that they will reopen once the economy improves, and that stretch of H Street matures a bit (i.e. gets more businesses). This is a very tough time for most of us, and local restaurants and bars are really feeling the hit as people scale back.

Stay tuned for details about a new and excited business expected to open near Napa 1015's location. Hopefully once that venture opens, the economy will have picked up and Napa will be able to resume regular operations.

In the meantime, what is the best dining option on H Street / NE Capitol Hill?

Thursday, October 15, 2009

HUGE news about streetcars coming to H Street. Tommy Wells deserves a great deal of credit for this, as does the Mayor for calling for the H Street streetcars project to be accelerated. Streetcars along with the streetscaping are going to make a huge difference throughout the corridor.

Wells also says he has a commitment from the mayor that the first cars will run on H Street....

"I called Fenty and asked Fenty and he said he would make H Street first," Wells said. "It completely transforms that whole corridor." Running a start line in a place where residents will embrace it was essential, he added. "It's probably the biggest decision about streetcars."

Gabe Klein, director of DDOT, confirmed that Fenty had directed an acceleration of plans for the H Street line, where trak construction originally began not to serve as a test route but to coincide with other street infrastructure work...

"What the Mayor has challenged us to do is to accelerate the H Street project, to make it operational faster," Klein said.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The H Street corridor may soon have a new 6-story apartment building and full service grocery store, a boon for the up-and-coming neighborhood in northeast Washington DC. Steuart Investment Company has owned several of the lots on the northeast corner of 3rd and H Streets, and in 2005 assembled a developable site by acquiring the remaining portion from BP AMOCO (BP) for $1.5 million, scotching BP's plans for a giant filling station and truck depot. The developer plans to build a six-story building with over 200,000 s.f. of residential and 46,500 s.f. of retail designed by Torti Gallas. The mixed-use building, with neighborhood approval, calls for an anchor grocer and LEED- certified rental units, and will continue the reinvigoration of a corridor already known for its burgeoning restaurant, bar and entertainment scene.

The apartment and grocery store should pair nicely with the condo buildings at that end of the cooridor: Capitol Place Development coming soon on the south side of H and the already open Landmark Lofts (at Senate Square) on the north.

It will be interesting to see what it lands. Petitions calling for Whole Foods (here) and Trader Joe's (here) to open locations on H Street are already in the works. I think either one would be great for the gorgeous new H Street Connection between 8th and 10th makes perfect sense as Capitol Hill and the surrounding parts of DC East of Dupont can surely support either.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Over the past few years, some fantastic venues have opened up on H Street NE, on the northern edge of Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Over the next few years, there's much more to come. Here is a preview of some of the hot new coming attractions that are expected over the months ahead.